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Even Bernie reads the NTU Update!

In this issue:

1) Working Conditions 

2) A new day for education

3) NTU Executive Board Meeting

And Much more!

January 15, 2021

In response to new reporting showing that Jeffrey Yass funded efforts to overturn the 2020 election, AFT Pennsylvania President Arthur Steinberg, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Jerry Jordan, and Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President Nina Esposito-Visgitis issued the following statement...

Click here for full article on the Eagle Tribune

Dear Superintendent Lewis and NOLA-PS Board Members,

Today we are writing to share our concerns about when and how we will resume in-person learning. We support the decision that NOLA-PS made to pivot to distance learning the week of January 4th. However, even in the short time of in-person learning (Jan. 4 - 5), Morris Jeff Community School experienced our first case of in-class, student-to-student COVID-19 transmission. Read the full letter here.

Every year we undertake the solemn task of honoring and remembering the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year feels like there’s an urgency to his words and memory. The spirit of national unity has been stretched thin by those seeking to support white supremacy.

Thankfully there are many more of us who heed and believe the words of Dr. King than there are of those who would divide us and promote racist, sexist fascism. The challenge for us is to not only remember Dr. King’s words, but to practice them. ...

READ MORE AT: http://md.aft.org/press/aft-maryland-statement-rev-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-day-2021

Every year we undertake the solemn task of honoring and remembering the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year feels like there’s an urgency to his words and memory. The spirit of national unity has been stretched thin by those seeking to support white supremacy.

Thankfully there are many more of us who heed and believe the words of Dr. King than there are of those who would divide us and promote racist, sexist fascism. The challenge for us is to not only remember Dr. King’s words, but to practice them. ...

CLICK TO READ 

January 17, 2021 ~ Bow, NH

Slowly but surely, the wheels are beginning to turn in the NH Legislature.  The Senate has already held a small number of online committee hearings, in essence testing out the system for remote access public testimony and working out any glitches.  The NH House is moving more slowly, with committees holding online orientation meetings for their members. 

The schedule for these meetings is in the House Calendar which can be found on the NH General Court website at http://gencourt.state.nh.us/house/caljourns/default.aspx).  If you seek to know when specific bills are scheduled for hearings you can check the Calendar which is published weekly or go to the bill search site if you know the bill number (for example, budget bill is always HB1).  The search page is http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_Status/.

New Orleans continues to experience the highest rates of COVID-19 we have seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Governor Edwards announced on January 16th that the new UK strain of COVID-19, which is easier to spread, has been identified in the New Orleans area.

Thomas V. "Mike" Miller's passing deeply saddened all of us at AFT-Maryland. His contributions to Maryland politics over the last 33 years are well documented but what we remember most about him was the ways he continued to push Maryland forward with a personal touch that each person he encountered felt.

Senate President Emeritus Miller, as his colleagues named him, was a steadfast leader who was a friend to working people and particularly public employees, seeing they got their fair share. In particular, he worked with the state federation to advance education, and protections for the public employees that make Maryland the state that it is. He was a lion of the state senate and will be sorely missed.

AFT-Maryland extends our deepest condolences to his wife Patti, their five children, 15 grandchildren, and the countless people across Maryland he's touched and will feel his loss. 

We have become acutely aware of the difficulties that the new payroll system, WORKDAY, is causing CUB Members employed in various agencies throughout the city. I have been in direct communication with Shop Stewards throughout our system and have been collecting information and data regarding specific cases by name and issue.